WizKids
WizKids, Inc. was an American Seattle-based company that first made its mark in the game industry producing collectible miniatures wargames. The company was founded in 2000 by Jordan Weisman, a veteran of the game company FASA. It was purchased by sports-card manufacturer Topps, Inc. in 2003. (Topps was, in turn, acquired by Michael Eisner's Tornante Company and Madison Dearborn Partners in 2007.) Topps closed down all WizKids operations and product lines on November 10, 2008. http://www.wizkidsgames.com/wk_article.asp?cid=41914 History WizKids was best known for its collectible miniatures games (or CMGs) Mage Knight, HeroClix, MechWarrior, and HorrorClix, all of which made use of the company's patent pending "Clix" system, in which the changing combat statistics and abilities of each figure were indicated by a turnable dial inside the base underneath the figure. Their latest CMG was Halo ActionClix (based on the console game Halo), released in August 2007. Though they proved less successful, WizKids also produced the short-lived CMGs Crimson Skies, Shadowrun Duels, and Creepy Freaks, as well as a baseball-themed CMG called MLB SportsClix. A CMG called ToonClix was announced in March 2006, but canceled before it was released. In July 2004, WizKids created a new product category with the release of their first constructible strategy game (or CSG), Pirates of the Spanish Main. Their next CSG was a science fiction game called Rocketmen, released in the summer of 2005, followed by a NASCAR CSG called RaceDay later that year, though these last two games are no longer being supported with new releases. By 2007, WizKids was also calling some of their releases involving CSG elements "Pocketmodel" games, beginning with the Star Wars PocketModel game. In 2005, WizKids released their first collectible card game, High Stakes Drifter. This game has since been discontinued. In May 2006, they released their second Collectable Card Game(CCG), a licensed Battlestar Galactica game based on the reimagined TV series. WizKids entered the board game market with a board game called Tsuro in 2005, followed in 2006 by Oshi and "Pirates: Quest for Davy Jones' Gold", a board game based on the Pirates Constructible Strategy Game. The company also owned the rights to the role-playing games Shadowrun and Classic Battletech, which they licensed to FanPro in 2001. Later in 2007, the franchise was licensed to InMediaRes, the games' publisher. . A game created by the company called Zypods (with a physical structure similar to Matryoshka dolls) had a limited release, but was never distributed nationwide. Topps Shuts Down WizKids The Topps Company announced on Monday, Nov. 10th 2008 that it would be closing down WizKids and discontinuing product lines including HeroClix. Topps CEO Scott Silverstein commented "This was an extremely difficult decision. But in light of the current economic conditions, we feel it is necessary to align our gaming initiatives more closely with Topps current sports and entertainment offerings which are already being developed within our New York office." In the statement announcing the close of WizKids, Topps also indicated that it was pursuing alternatives to discontinuing brands so that brands such as HeroClix could continue on without any noticable disruption in future product offerings. Games and products Product lines marked with a star (*) are no longer actively supported or expanded by WizKids. Board Games * Oshi * Tsuro * Pirates: Quest for Davy Jones' Gold Books * MechWarrior: Dark Age (Novels) * Mage Knight (Novels and collectors guides) Collectable Card Games * Battlestar Galactica* * High Stakes Drifter* Collectable Miniatures Games * MageKnight* * HeroClix* ** Marvel HeroClix ** Indy HeroClix ** DC HeroClix * HorrorClix* * MechWarrior: Age of Destruction* * Halo ActionClix* * Creepy Freaks* * Crimson Skies* * Shadowrun Duels* * MLB SportsClix* * ToonClix (Unreleased) Constructible Strategy Games * Pirates Constructible Strategy Game* * Rocketman* * NASCAR Race Day* * Lord of the Rings CSG WizKids Games (Unreleased) Pocketmodel Games * Star Wars PocketModel Trading Card Game* * Pirates of the Caribbean PocketModels* Other Games * Zypods* References External links * WizKids web site Category:Game manufacturers Category:Companies based in Seattle, Washington Category:Companies established in 2000 da:WizKids de:WizKids es:WizKids fi:WizKids Games